Sunday, February 3, 2013

To solve school overcrowding, we're building condos

It’s what you don’t see that’s most important here. Next door at Middle School 114, more than 530 students were accepted into the public school for strong academic performance. Every day, the students walk into the newly-constructed school. They learn from smart boards in a fully air-conditioned facility equipped with computer labs.

Not a single taxpayer dollar was used to build the school. The $46 million facility was built by the Azure developers, the Mattone Group and DeMatteis Organizations, in conjunction with the New York City Education Construction Fund, a novel program created in the 1960s and resurrected under Mayor Bloomberg after a 20-year hiatus.

In essence, developers vie to build residential buildings on the site of older, often out-of-date schools that hold significant amount of air rights that would allow for substantial construction of new schools and residential development.

“This is a win-win-win for everyone involved,” said Education Construction Fund (ECF) executive director Jamie Smarr. “The students get a brand new school, the city doesn’t have to pay for it, and developers get to build much needed residential units.”

Developers at Mattone and DeMatteis, long-time New York City builders and developers, point to the relationship between building schools and residential developments. They say the owner of the penthouse will be helping a public school.

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

"New York City Education Construction Fund, a novel program created in the 1960s and resurrected under Mayor Bloomberg after a 20-year hiatus."

-The reason for the "hiatus" was that the program became a cesspool for developers bribing local school district officials to get permission to tear down good school buildings and replace them with shitty little dumps cowering in the base of some condo tower.

One case that finally caused the shit to hit the fan was that of PS190M on Manhattan's upper east side. It was found that District Supt. Charles Wilson was whoring himself to a developer to allow and old (1903) but perfectly solid and upgradeable building to be torn down and replaced with a "school" of lower capacity and -only one entrance- all but hidden under some crap tower.

This time however the parents had some power and connections and got the matter investigated.

Wilson was indicted for bribery and the program soon after went on it's "hiatus".

BTW: Today the former P190M is called PS290 and is one of the top elementary schools in the City.

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